244 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



where five persons were running a steam threshing machine, and every 

 person was a woman. The hurried traveler is very likely to conclude 

 from what he sees that in Germany men wear uniforms and the women 

 do the work, and I am afraid he is about half rigjit. At any rate I 

 have said, half seriously, that I believe Germany would starve to 

 death if it were not for the severe toil of its women. 



The employment of other animals than horses for traction purposes 

 is another of the significant features of Europe. During a walk in 

 Southern Germany, I estimated that of the animals used in farm work 

 about one-third were horses, one-third steers, and one-third cows. 



While Fig. 7 shows a very common form and size of cart in 

 Germany, attention should be called to the fact that immense carts, 

 drawn by single draft horses, are also not uncommon. In some cases 

 a single horse is said to move, on two Avheels, six tons. Instead of 

 criticising or being amused at the use of dogs, (See Fig. 7) or cows, or 

 donkeys or even man-power, we should learn a lesson from the ex- 

 perience of these older countries. The facts are, it seems to me, that 

 in many ways the problem of transportation is better worked out in 

 Europe than it is in our own country, and one of the factors is the 

 adaptation of power to the economic need. It is not good economy to 

 run a 50-horse power boiler and engine when only 5-horse power is 

 needed. The dog, the donkey, the cow, and the steer finds a place in 

 Europe along the side of the most modern up-to-date methods of trans- 

 portation because each serves present economic needs. 



If the traveler will descend from the train, and go out into the 

 fields, he will be imprepsed with the tremendous fertility of the soil 

 in many places. I saw land in Europe that had been cultivated for 

 twent}' centuries that is as fertile as any land in America. The Khein 

 Valley, between Freeburg and Frankfurt, had been farmed for the 

 last 1,200 years. It raises two crops which contribute largely to that 

 fertility, viz. ; Alfalfa and mangel-wurzel or stock beets. The alfalfa 

 furnishes succulent and protein food for livestock and keeps up the 

 nitrogen supply of the soil, while the mangel-wurzel takes the place of 

 our Indian corn. As a matter of fact, mangel-wurzels are watered- 

 concentrates, so that with alfalfa and these stock beets the farmer has 

 two ideal crops, both from the standpoint of milk production and of 

 keeping up the fertility of the soil. 



In addition to this Germany has, as America well knows at mo- 

 ment, the potash supply of the world. Thus, the German farmer has 

 a cheap supply of potash, and by menus of its basic slag it has supplies 

 of phosphoric acid in one of the best known forms. 



In view of all that has been said of the lack of farm machinery in 

 Germany, and what seems to an American the primitive methods of 

 farming, one must not fail to call attention to the general prosperity 

 of the German farmer. To the casual observer it is a puzzling fact, 

 for not only are the people in German cities prosperous, but the Ger- 

 man fanner appears prosperous. When one studies it seems almost 

 impossible that it should be so. I talked with a young Canadian, who 

 spent three years in Euro]>e studing History and Political Economy, 

 concerning these conditions. His explanation was as follows: 

 "America exported agricultural products and imported manufactured 

 products, therefore, our tariff system protected the industries rather 

 than agriculture. That perhaps in America, with its fresh lands and 



